Sad ending to a child's school dream

This column has been revised from its original version to specify that Thomas Prince School is in Princeton.

Leeann Brady overcame severe hardships to build a better life for her family. Ironically, though, the last milestone she achieved has caused unintentional heartbreak for her child.

Brady's 18-year-old son, Kyle, has been a student at Wachusett Regional High School in Holden for three years, after graduating from Thomas Prince School in Princeton in the same school district. A special needs student with mental retardation, Kyle has thrived in the school district and was taught by a speech therapist to communicate through sign language.

“He's loved it there,” Brady said. “He's had a lot of changes in his life, and it's been a long road to get him to this point.”

In 2004, Kyle lost his 13-year-old brother to an illness. At the time, Brady's husband was unemployed and collecting SSDI for post-traumatic stress suffered as a U.S. Marine during Operation Desert Storm. Brady said she fell into a deep depression, and the family moved to an in-law apartment in her sister's home in Rutland.

Four years ago, she and her husband divorced. Brady remarried in 2011, earned a nursing degree in May and works at a rehabilitation facility in Athol. Last month, after living in her sister's basement for seven years, Brady found a single-family Cape in Hubbardston. The price was right, and the family moved in mid-October.

“It was a milestone and a dream come true,” Brady said. “It's important that I make a better life for my son.”

Kyle had started the school year in September. Soon after, Brady had a meeting at Wachusett to discuss changes to her son's Individual Education Plan, or IEP, and said she asked his teacher about school choice, which allows students to attend schools out of their district. She said Kyle was eager to walk down the aisle and graduate with his class in the spring.

It was not to be, however. Even though the family moved just 500 feet from the Rutland line, and the “Entering Rutland” sign can be seen from their driveway, Kyle had left the five-town district and was ineligible to finish the year at Wachusett. His last day was Nov. 9.

Brady said she's tried unsuccessfully to speak with Superintendent Thomas G. Pandiscio. She said his secretary informed her that her appeal for school choice was rejected. She also said the teacher denied that Brady ever asked her about school choice, even though an email from Brady to the teacher indicates that she had.

“Kyle is a bright, enthusiastic and loving boy,” Brady said. “All he's ever talked about was walking on stage with his friends, getting his diploma and making his mommy cry with pride.”

Her husband, Robert Brady, said Kyle isn't in school now because the lengthy IEP hasn't been started at Quabbin Regional High School.

“They treated him as a number instead of an individual,” Robert Brady said of Wachusett officials. “There was no empathy whatsoever.”

On Friday, Pandiscio said he's bound by state residency requirements and that the slots for school choice were filled by the time Brady applied. He agreed that exceptions can be made, but said they're typically for families whose planned purchase of a house in the district is delayed.

“This is a student who's living in Hubbardston and not coming back,” Pandiscio said. “Of course I feel bad for this child. But I don't make the rules… It would have had to be done under a wink and a nod… At the end of the day, I have to serve 7,000 kids.”

Brady said her son only needed six more months to graduate. In a letter to Pandiscio, Brady's sister said the situation is “even more heartbreaking” because Kyle can't understand the situation and thinks he's being punished.

“I'm not one for stirring the pot,” Brady said. “But a mother must do right by her child. What's more important than a child's education and future?”